FMF
On this day in 1933, the Secretary of the Navy created the Fleet Marine Force.
Essentially, the creation of the FMF authorized the Marine Corps to independently operate aircraft--as well as task-organize for support of amphibious operations--in conjunction with the Navy. It was the first application of combined arms philosophy in the United States military, and largely created the modern Marine Corps. Many of the techniques and tactics that would later be employed by the German Wehrmacht--and used against them by General George Patton--were pioneered by the Fleet Marine Force prior to the Second World War.
Furthermore, the FMF organizational system is one of the reasons the Japanese were unable to effectively resist Marine landings in the Pacific. The Japanese were brave and skilled fighters, but they were operating under the handicap of an antiquated, 19th century warfighting system; the United States Navy and Marine Corps exploited this advantage to the fullest.
Today, when you hear a Marine say he's "going back to the Fleet," he means he's returning to a combat unit from an auxiliary--or "B" billet--posting. "The Fleet" is the heart and soul of the Corps, and where every combat Marine wants to be.
In many ways, December 8th is as much a birthday for the modern Marine Corps as the more traditional November 10th date, since the Corps as we know it today wouldn't exist without the Fleet Marine Force organizational concept.
Essentially, the creation of the FMF authorized the Marine Corps to independently operate aircraft--as well as task-organize for support of amphibious operations--in conjunction with the Navy. It was the first application of combined arms philosophy in the United States military, and largely created the modern Marine Corps. Many of the techniques and tactics that would later be employed by the German Wehrmacht--and used against them by General George Patton--were pioneered by the Fleet Marine Force prior to the Second World War.
Furthermore, the FMF organizational system is one of the reasons the Japanese were unable to effectively resist Marine landings in the Pacific. The Japanese were brave and skilled fighters, but they were operating under the handicap of an antiquated, 19th century warfighting system; the United States Navy and Marine Corps exploited this advantage to the fullest.
Today, when you hear a Marine say he's "going back to the Fleet," he means he's returning to a combat unit from an auxiliary--or "B" billet--posting. "The Fleet" is the heart and soul of the Corps, and where every combat Marine wants to be.
In many ways, December 8th is as much a birthday for the modern Marine Corps as the more traditional November 10th date, since the Corps as we know it today wouldn't exist without the Fleet Marine Force organizational concept.
posted by Jar(egg)head at 12:09
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